BOMBAY, India, Dec. 4, 1971 (UPI) - Sen. William B. Saxbe said today he believes that autonomy for East Pakistan could have been achieved if the fighting between India and Pakistan had been delayed another few weeks. Saxbe, who saw India's Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Pakistan's President A.M. Yahya Kahn during the past two weeks, expressed his discouragement at the outbreak of fighting between the two countries.
Saxbe said in an interview that Yahya had indicated his willingness to accept autonomy for East Pakistan with some West Pakistani control over military matters and foreign affairs.
Saxbe said he felt after his talks with Yahya that "it was possible for autonomy in East Pakistan under liberal conditions, if the war could have been prevented for a few weeks. But now it is difficult to comprehend the future."
